Director:
Ridley Scott
Cast:
Christian Bale
Joel Edgerton
Aaron Paul
Ben Kingsley
Isaac Andrews
Rated: PG-13
Director Ridley Scott takes on the epic biblical tale of Moses in “Exodus: Gods and Kings.”
The story stays relatively true to the text, all of the plagues are there as well as the Hebrew slaves. What is a bit different is that Moses is portrayed as much more of an “action hero” type, having the skills of a warrior.
Director:
Jean-Marc Vallee
Cast:
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Dern
Thomas Sadoski
Rated: R
“Wild” follows the true story of Cheryl Strayed, who walked 1,000 miles on what is known as the Pacific Crest Trail and documented it in a book. Reese Witherspoon plays Strayed, who goes on the journey as a way of healing herself following multiple traumatic and tragic events in her life.
As she goes along her journey, Strayed meets a number of different characters and personalities and begins to recover as a person.
Director:
Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast:
Joaquin Phoenix
Katherine Waterston
Josh Brolin
Eric Roberts
Rated: R
The story of Inherent Vice is centered on Larry “Doc” Sportello (Phoenix), a detective who has less than orthodox methods and also happens to be a fairly heavy drug user. In the midst of one of his times of getting high, Doc is visited by a person who wants him to investigate the disappearance of a former girlfriend.
As Doc begins his investigation, he uncovers numerous things going on behind the scenes and runs into a variety of interesting characters along the way.
Director:
Peter Jackson
Cast:
Martin Freeman
Ian McKellen
Richard Armitage
Rated: PG-13
“The Hobbit” saga comes to a close in “Battle of the Five Armies,” directed by Peter Jackson. The film starts moments after the end of the second film, “The Desolation of Smaug.” The dwarves, led by Thorin, played by Richard Armitage, have regained their kingdom containing endless piles of gold and the evil dragon Smaug has been set free.
After leaving the mountain kingdom, Smaug begins destroying the nearby lake city. The fact that Smaug has now left the gold in the dwarf kingdom, though, has been spread by word of mouth and it sets in motion the events of the final installment as a number of armies descend on the location.
Continue reading “The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies review”
Director:
Sean Anders
Cast:
Jason Bateman
Jason Sudeikis
Charlie Day
Chris Pine
Christoph Waltz
Jamie Foxx
Rated: R
The bosses are still horrible and the jokes are still funny in this sequel to the 2011 film.
“Horrible Bosses 2” picks up with the three protagonists, Nick, played by Jason Bateman, Kurt, played by Jason Sudeikis and Dale, played by Charlie Day, who all left their old jobs after the events of the first film and have gone into business for themselves. This time around, the three have created a revolutionary shower handle and are looking for a company to sell it to.
They end up going into business with Rex and Bert Hanson, played by Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz, and everything is right on track until they find out they were double crossed by the Hansons. The three lose nearly all of their new start-up business. To get back at the Hansons, the trio decide to try a kidnapping plot.
Director:
Francis Lawrence
Cast:
Jennifer Lawrence
Josh Hutcherson
Liam Hemsworth
Woody Harrelson
Donald Sutherland
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Julianne Moore
Rated: PG-13
The odds will certainly be in this movie’s favor at the box office this weekend.
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” is the first in a two-part finale for the whole book- based movie series. The film picks up not long after the events of the previous installment, “Catching Fire” with Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, taken to the mysterious District 13.
District 13 is the home of the rebellion against the oppressive rule of the Capitol of Panem. Upon her arrival, Katniss meets the President of District 13, Alma Coin, played by Julianne Moore. Katniss soon learns that the District wants her to be the face and symbol of the rebellion.
Continue reading “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 review”
Director:
Christopher Nolan
Cast:
Matthew McConaughey
John Lithgow
Michael Caine
Anne Hathaway
David Gyasi
Mackenzie Foy
Jessica Chastain
Rated PG-13
“Interstellar” takes place many years in the future. The Earth has more or less dried up and much of the land looks like a dust bowl. There are constant dust storms and very few crops remain that can grow in the increasingly harsh conditions.
To ensure that humanity has a chance to survive and live on, an expedition is put together by the remaining resources at NASA to travel through a worm hole near Saturn and find a new home. The only problem is they still need a pilot.
Director:
Dan Gilroy
Cast:
Jake Gyllenhaal
Bill Paxton
Riz Ahmed
Rene Russo
Rated: R
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Louis in “Nightcrawler,” a man who lives in a small apartment in Los Angeles and appears to just drift through life, staying up all night and working in whatever jobs he can get. One night while looking for a way to make some money, he comes across a horrific accident and sees a van full of photographers go to the scene and shoot video.
The event gives him the idea to try this himself and sell his videos to a news station. There are moments very early on, though, that show that Louis isn’t just an ambitious young man, he is a mentally unstable person and will stop at nothing for a good video to make the morning news.
Director:
David Ayer
Cast:
Brad Pitt
Shia LaBeouf
Logan Lerman
Michael Pena
Jon Bernthal
Rated: R
In “Fury,” Logan Lerman plays Norman Ellison, a rookie soldier who gets brought into an American tank unit in the waning days of World War II. As Norman arrives at the front, he gets teamed up with an experienced crew that operate a tank called Fury.
The leader of this tank crew is nicknamed Wardaddy, played by Brad Pitt.
Norman’s new crew also includes Boyd (LaBeouf), Gordo (Pena) and Grady (Bernthal). As the tank pushes into German controlled territory, Norman is faced with challenges he has never seen before as he sees the horrors of war.
Director:
Jorge R. Gutierrez
Cast:
Diego Luna
Zoe Saldana
Channing Tatum
Ice Cube
Ron Perlman
Christina Applegate
Rated: PG
“The Book of Life” follows three central characters, Manolo (Luna), Maria (Saldana) and Joaquin (Tatum). The three are childhood friends, however, circumstances separate them over time. That doesn’t stop young love to develop, though, as Manolo and Joaquin both have a crush on Maria.
Meanwhile, the rulers of the afterlife, Xibalba (Perlman) who looks after the land of the forgotten and Mary Beth (Applegate) who looks after the land of the remembered, decide to make a bet on the young love, to decide which character will win Maria’s heart.
Matthew Liedke on Film 